How to Bet Faro

Faro was a game that was popular in saloons throughout Wild West. From the mid-1800s on, you could find many a cowboy, settler or gold rusher, sitting around playing Faro. Faro is played with 1 set of the spade suit cards plus a regular 52 card deck. The entire spade suit is placed on the table; this is the "layout." From there, people would place their bets.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Purchase chips from the "bank." If you are playing at home, someone will need to be the bank. Set the denomination that each chip is worth. (Remember house gambling is illegal in most of the United States, so check your local laws, or keep your voices down.) Be sure to set a price that is comfortable for everyone, and don't muscle people out of the game by making the cost too high.
2. Place your bets on the 13-card layout. In some ways, the game is very similar to roulette in that you are betting the chance of your number turning up. So take your chips and place bets where you would like on one of the cards. You may bet as many different cards as you like. You may also use tactics like "splitting" or "cornering" your bet amongst multiple cards. This will divide the payout by two if touching two cards, or four if touching four cards.
3. Burn the first card. This is also a common practice in games like blackjack. The first card is referred to as the "soda." It is removed from the shoot or deck. This card is set to the side face-up so that all may see what it is. This is either referred to as the "Banker's Card" or the "Player's Card."
4. Draw two cards. The banker then draws two cards from the deck. The order is of prime importance as the first card is the "losing card." All bets placed on that number are collected to the bank. The next number is called the "winning card." The banker then pays two to one for all bets placed on that card.
5. "Copper" your bet. This term came into effect, as people would place a penny on top of their bet or their card. This would reverse the bet so that if the first card drawn had a penny on top, it was actually a winner. Conversely, if the second card had a penny on the bet, it would then be the loser.
6. Watch out for doublets. Like every gambling game, the house must have a slight edge. The only edge this game offers is if the dealer draws two cards in a row that are the same. Those cards are totaled and one half of the bets placed on those cards are removed and taken by the dealer. If the sums add up to something greater than is available on the board, or the dealer draws two face cards, half the sum of those cards is removed.
7. Bet the turn. With three cards remaining in the deck, the dealer will offer a special bet called "betting the turn." This is where your card counting skills can come in handy. If you guess the exact order of the last three cards, you will win four times your money. The house still has the edge, as there are nine possible combinations.

Tips & Warnings

• When laying out the Faro board, start with the ace and work to the right. For the "seven" card place it halfway between the first and second row. Then working right to left, above the first row, continue with your cards until you complete the board. A way to check this is to make sure that your King of Spades is above your Ace of Spades.